


she could be a (heart)breaker

by weatheredlaw



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Time, Loss of Virginity, Love Confessions, Masturbation, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 06:25:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17955284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: Aloy wears Oseram armor. Erend has...feelingsabout this, among other things.





	she could be a (heart)breaker

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a porn without plot thing and then all these feelings fell in idk where they came from

To see her is to see the first rays of the sun after a good night’s rest. It’s no wonder there are whispers _sun-queen_ that follow her wherever she goes. Erend is standing in front of a newly repaired part of the market, feeling rather pleased with himself, when he spots those tell-tale Nora beads. Since the battle, the Nora don’t shy away from traveling to Meridian, but Erend could spot Aloy anywhere. He tries not to think too hard about what that means.

Of course there’s no time to go after her, and he has to resign himself to the fact that she might just be in the capital to grab something she needs or trade for something important before she’s gone again.

But there she is, after the sun has started to set, haggling with an old Oseram trader over armor.

“ _Three_ hundred shards.”

Aloy scowls. “Two-eighty. I gave you the lens!”

“It’s scratched.”

“Well of course it’s _scratched_ how do you think I _got it_ \--”

“Problem over here?” Erend puts a hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’re not giving the savior of Meridian a hard time, are you Balin?”

“Captain! Ah, no, no. Just, ah. Doing business!” He snatches the shards from her hand and shoves the armor into Aloy’s arms. “Here. Don’t get yourself _killed_ , Nora. _Bah._ ” He waves her off and starts counting his shards.

When Erend turns to look at Aloy, she’s _fuming._ “Uh-oh. Don’t like that look.”

“I didn’t need your help, I could have haggled him down.”

“Yeah, but it would have wasted fifteen more minutes. Two of which you could have given to me.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but her expression softens. “How could I forget?” she asks.

“Let me hold that?”

She nods. “Sure. Dinner’s on me, since I saved twenty shards.”

Erend laughs. “Can’t argue with that.” He looks down and sees she’s bought Oseram armor. Used, but repaired. Sturdy still, in his arms. “What’s this for?” he asks as they sit down at a table in the market. He sets the armor to the side and waves at one of the vendors who nods toward him.

“Bandit hunting,” she says.

“... _Bandit_ hunting.”

“Yeah,” she says, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Someone brings over a few plates of kabobs and flatbread. “They keep popping up. Have to keep the trade routes clear.” She grabs a stick and tears the meat off with her teeth.

One thing Erend’s always appreciated about Aloy -- she doesn’t mince words, and she doesn’t wait to be served.

“So you went with Oseram armor.”

“I had some, but it’s long gone. Your people make a mean set, I’ll tell you that.” She licks her fingers. “But yeah. Bandit hunting.” Aloy leans forward and grins. “Wanna come with me?”

Erend _laughs._ “Now _that_ is an offer.”

“It’ll be fun,” she says. “More fun than my last hunting buddy.”

“Hunting buddy?”

“Long story,” she says. “ _Which_ I could tell if you went hunting with me.”

Erend nods and takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully.

“...You can’t, can you?”

He shakes his head. “No. I need to be here. Wish I could be out there, but…”

Aloy nods. “Well, I understand.” She grabs a piece of flatbread and tears off a piece. “I’ll bring you something back.”

Erend cringes. “Please no heads.”

She laughs and shrugs. “No promises, Vaguard.”

 

* * *

 

In the morning she finds him heaving stones from a crater that used to be a temple. Erend looks up betweens the rays of sunlight between them and catches a glimpse of familiar steel.

“I’m heading out.”

“Holy _shit_ ,” one of his men says. Erend turns and lobs a piece of rubble at him.

“ _Oi!_ Get back to work!” Shouts of _yes, sir_ come up from the crater and Erend shakes his head and turns back to her.

She _does_ look _really_ good.

Aloy raises a brow. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just have a buncha _animals_ workin’ for me, _apparently._ ” He looks over his shoulder and they all jolt and go back to digging. “That armor suits you.”

“Yeah, it works.” She presses the shirt down and sighs. “So.”

“Uh, well--” Erend sticks his hand out and Aloy laughs.

“You’re funny, Captain.” She takes his hand and pulls herself in, pushing herself onto her toes to kiss his cheek. It’s not the first time she’s done it, but it’s the first time she’s done it wearing that armor. Erend’s grateful for his sobriety _and_ his self-control right about now.

“Stay safe,” he calls after her, once she’s walked away.

She turns and shrugs. “I’ll give it my best shot.”

Erend watches her go for only a minute before he jumps back down into the crater with his men.

“Hey, Captain?”

“Don’t even fuckin’ think about it, Doven. You understand me?”

A few of the men laugh, Doven among them. “Whatever you say, Captain.” He chucks a piece of stone into the cart behind him. “Whatever you say.”

 

* * *

 

He lays in bed that night, the work and sweat of the day showered off of him. His boys are out drinking, but he’s trying to be better, just about most things in general, so he had an ale and left them to it. Now he kind of wishes he _was_ getting tanked. It’d help him forget about things he’s not supposed to think of.

Like Aloy in Oseram armor, the sun-kissed of her bare shoulders standing out in the morning light. Freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. The contrast of her Nora beads against the practical stitchwork of the his people. There has never been anything remotely Oseram about Aloy, but then she has never seemed particularly _Nora_ to him, either.

Erend rolls onto his back and closes his eyes. He tries not to think about her like this. Feels unfair. Feels like it’s something he should be able to control. Not like he’s never laid in bed and thought of girls he’s had an eye for before, but...she’s different.

She’s always been different.

As different as she is, though, Erend hasn’t changed much. Sure, he drinks less and, sure, he tries to care about what happens to himself a little more, but his body still rises and falls to the same beat again and again. He reaches down under the waistband of the thin, cotton pants he wears to bed and takes his stiffening cock in one hand, puts the other over his heart.

She’d look beautiful, he thinks, sitting above him, Oseram leather and metal abandoned on his floor. He imagines the flush that would cover her chest, the way her mouth might open as he rose up inside her. How right she would feel as she rode him, as his cock thrust into her, as he told her how he felt about everything she is and chooses to be.

Erend’s release comes too fast, but it’s a relief all the same. He gets up and cleans himself off, steadying himself with one hand against the wall as he tugs his pants back over his cock.

The shame prickles at the back of his neck, but he brushes it aside.

 

* * *

 

A tremor of joy goes up in him, each time he hears she’s come back. Of course if he went tearing off after her, he’d never hear the end of it from his boys, so he waits for her to find him. She’s wearing Nora garb, which does not suit his recent fantasies — those being ones where she keeps her Oseram armor on while he bends her over a table and sinks his cock into her, all at her encouragement — but it suits _her_ just fine.

“All done bandit hunting?” he asks, when she finds him at the end of a shift.

“Still plenty more out there, but for now, yes. Buy me dinner?”

Erend laughs and nods. “Absolutely. I’m sure you’ve more than earned it.”

Aloy grins and hooks her arm with his. Erend’s chest swells and if his men are looking his way, he couldn’t care less. He’s got the bravest woman in Meridian on his arm, but he can’t help but think he is more her accessory than she is his. Which he doesn’t mind. Being an alpha male has never really appealed to him. He spent too much time with Ersa.

At dinner, she wants to know about the rebuilding effort, how Avad is holding up, how Erend’s been feeling.

“Not...terrible,” is what he lands on, with a bit of a smile. “I’m drinking less, trying to enjoy other things more.”

“That’s good,” she says. “That’s really good.”

Erend asks her about the bandits, because he likes the way she tells stories. How she kind of starts in the middle and realizes something needs context and is so eager to get to the end, the part where she wrecks things and leaves some bandit hovel a smoking ruin. She can talk for so long without taking a breath.

“Anyway, I didn’t bring you any heads. I don’t...I don’t _actually_ enjoy taking care of them, but they torment the roads between the clans. Keep people prisoner if they find them traveling.” Her expression darkens. “If they’d respond to reason, we could talk things out, but--”

“Aloy.” Erend leans forward. “You don’t have to justify what you do out there to me, alright? I know it’s important.”

She smiles a ducks her head.

Erend swears her cheeks go pink.

She has a place in the city, a gift from Avad, but it was given to her before the battle, and it’s been completely wrecked in the meantime. Erend’s been trying to get to it, but it’s not in nearly as bad a shape as other parts of Meridian, so when she’s in the city Erend always offers her his other room.

Ever since he saw her in that armor, though, he’s not as quick to give it up.

“Come on, you can’t have messed it up that bad since I was last here.”

“Uh, no,” he says. “That’s not it.” She looks at him expectantly, and he can’t say no, not to her. He sighs and motions for her to follow. Thankfully none of the other Vanguard are around to see him looking like a kicked _dog_ under her scrutinizing gaze, and when they finally reach his apartment, Erend’s in a full sweat. This is precisely where he thought about her, imagined her pulling each part of her Oseram armor off piece by piece as he thrust into his own hand.

His mouth goes dry, as she drops her things in the spare room and falls back on the bed.

“The great Aloy, exhausted.” He leans against the door frame. “A rare sight indeed.”

She grunts and Erend turns to leave her be. He goes into the sitting room and starts up the fire. She’ll want tea, and they’ll sit together for a while until one of them dozes off, usually Erend.

Aloy comes in as the water’s boiling, sitting on the floor in front of the fire and warming her hands.

“Do you not want me here?” she asks quietly.

Erend hands her a cup of tea. “Of course I want you here,” he says. “I asked you to come.”

She looks at him. “No. You’re being weird.” She takes the tea and turns away from him. “You’re the only thing about this city that makes sense. You’re always...you. You’re sturdy. You’re whole, even when you’re a little bit broken.”

“You’ve got Avad,” he says lamely.

Aloy shakes her head. “A king can’t be whole, Erend. You know that already. Ersa knew that plainly.”

“I suppose.”

She angles herself toward him. “What’s changed? It’s been recent,” she says.

Erend feels found out, but if she suspects what he’s hiding she doesn’t say. They sip their tea in silence until he moves down to the floor next to her.

“I’m in love with you,” he says, as gently as he can. Their knees touch and Erend sets down his cup. “And I was, um.” He clears his throat. “ _Moved_ , the other day. When you were wearing that armor.”

She looks at him sharply. “The Oseram armor?”

He nods. “Yeah. Just, uh. Got to me.” He sniffs.

“ _Got_ to you.”

“Yeah.”

“What does that mean?”

Erend groans and gets up, moving away from her. “ _Aloy._ You’re killing me.” He turns and she’s looking at him, her expression open and receptive. Just...like always.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Why not?” She moves to stand by him. “You...you said you love me. Why is that a bad thing?”

“Because! Because you’re... _Aloy._ You saved the world, you _keep_ saving it. You hunt bandits and machines and when you ask for it a king gives you all his time. How I feel about you, the stupid things I do after you wear _armor_ made by my tribe, it doesn’t mean anything.” He looks at her, and he wants to _touch_ her, to take her hair between his fingers and feel it _burn._

“You belong to the world, Aloy. And the world belongs to you.”

Erend is surprised when she reaches out and takes his hand. “Do you really think so little of yourself?”

“It’s not that I think so little of _me_. It’s that _you’re_ …”

Aloy shakes her head. “Don’t put me on a pedestal. That isn’t fair.”

Erend laughs. “You don’t think you can handle it?”

“I can handle anything,” she says. “I just...I don’t want to be up so high. Away from...everyone.”

Erend nods. “Right. Well I’m...I’m sorry. For doing that.”

“Stop telling me you’re sorry,” she says. “Stop telling me you’re not good enough for my time and my attention. Stop telling me how incredible I am.” Aloy tugs her hands out of his grip. “Whatever you did after seeing me in _armor_ I don’t care. I don’t need you to carry your shame around, I’m not interested in it.”

“Aloy--”

She runs a hand through her hair. “You think you’re the only one? Who hasn’t had...had _feelings?_ You think when I’m out there I don’t think about things? Just because I’ve...because I’ve never... _ugh!_ You’re so _frustrating!_ You’re supposed to be the easy part of all this! You’re supposed to be the one thing I can rely on in this insane place and now you’ve...you’ve ruined that! I don’t _want_ to be worshiped, not like this.”

Erend scowls. “I can’t help what I--”

“Love and hero worship aren’t the same thing, Erend. Maybe sort out how you really feel,” she says, and turns to go into the spare room, slamming the door behind her.

Erend stands in the sitting room for a while before going into his own room to go to bed.

 

* * *

 

Erend doesn’t see her for a few days. At least not the way he’d like to. She passes by him, doesn’t speak his name, doesn’t speak a word.

Not that Erend does much more. She’s angry with him, he’s angry with himself, it’s all a total mess, not what he’d imagined it’d be like when he finally got to tell her how he felt. He feels like an idiot, and it shows while he’s working. His men stay clear of him, until Doven asks what’s crawled up his ass and died.

Erend chucks a block of stone into a cart and turns to see the Vanguard watching him.

“Aw, you went and screwed it all up, didn’t you, Captain?”

He nods. “Yep. Sure did.”

“Pity,” Doven says. “She looked real good in all that Oseram steel.”

 

* * *

 

When Erend gets back to his apartment, Aloy’s nowhere around, so he thinks there’s a pretty good chance she’s left the city.

But she hasn’t. Erend hears some clanging coming from the spare room.

He calls out, “Aloy?”

“ _Just a minute!_ ”

Erend sighs and starts shucking off his armor, hanging it up on its hook by the door before moving further in. “I’m glad you’re still here,” he says. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry for being such a damned idiot the other day, I just never really...really know what...to say.” He stops.

She’s standing in his living room, wearing Oseram armor, and she doesn’t look like she’s heading out to fight bandits.

Erend stops in his tracks. “What’s, um. What’s goin’ on?”

“You said you liked it.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you have to wear it.”

Aloy laughs. “I got it fitted today, I was trying it on. Thought you’d enjoy the results.”

“Aloy, this really isn’t fair.”

“Why’s that?” she steps closer to him, hands behind her back, bottom lip pulled between her teeth. “Afraid of what you’re feeling?”

“This is a dangerous game, huntress.”

Aloy pulls him toward her, puts a hand on his neck, and draws him in for a kiss.

“I like danger.”

It is precisely how he wanted it to go -- her taking the lead, him in complete awe of everything she chooses to be. Why would he ever want their first kiss to be anything than what they’ve always been together? Erend opens up under her touch, drawing her closer, holding her flush with his chest while her arms twine around his neck. He feels the blunt edges of her nails against his scalp and slides his tongue along her own. He wonders if she’s had some practice, out there in the wilds, but doesn’t think it’d be very polite to wonder.

Besides -- what does it matter? She’s kissing him, right? She’s in his arms, isn’t she?

She’s in that damn armor, and Erend is so aware of its presence between them, aware of how it feels against his body that he’s about ready to ask her to follow through on fantasy number twelve, the one where he drops to his knees and really _does_ worship her, just probably in a way most folks never even think about.

But she says -- “Do you want to take this off of me?” -- and Erend groans, every nerve in his body driving in straight over the edge of madness.

“You have know idea how badly I want to leave you in it,” he mutters, and kisses the curve of her jaw, up to her ear. “But yeah. I really wanna get you out of it.”

She laughs and takes a step back, pulling him toward the open doorway of his room. “Did you think about it in here?” she asks.

“I did.”

Aloy nods and gives him a little shove, and Erend sits on the edge of the bed with a sigh. She’s an expert with all the belts and buckles that comes with this set, and she knows the order it needs to come off in. First the outer skirt, which lands with a satisfying _thud_ on his floor. Then go the heavy leather pieces on her arms and the wrappings underneath them. By the time the belt hits the floor, Erend is uncomfortably hard, and she certainly notices.

“You can, you know.”

“Do what?”

“You can, um…” She turns her head, cheeks going pink. Erend laughs.

“You mean it’s okay if I touch myself while you take all of that off.” She nods. “Well, if the lady says it’s okay…” Erend undoes his own belt and reaches under the waistband of his pants for his cock. He hisses as it touches the cool air. Aloy’s gaze lingers on it for a moment, before she goes back to her task.

She is nothing if not dedicated.

Eventually all that’s left is the soft pants and top that protects her from very little, and Erend suddenly finds her kneeling beside him, reaching out with an experimental graze of her fingers.

“You don’t have to,” he says. “We can work on that some other time…”

“I just...want to see your face,” she says, and takes him in hand.

She’s not an expert, not by a long shot, but Erend’s certainly had less steady hands around his more sensitive parts. He leans back on his elbows and lets her tease, careful not to let his head fall back, but keeping his expression open to her. She wants to see his reaction, because like a lot of things, this is a theory she is testing. She’s explained what she does out there, what she explores and the trains of thought she connects. Aloy is so clever, so quick to learn that he isn’t surprised when she notes the natural motion of his hips up into her grasp and starts to use them to her advantage.

“Ah, _shit_ ,” he mutters, and carefully pushes her away.

“No good?”

“Nah, it’s great. Just, uh...I don’t want to come right now.”

“Ah. I see.”

“And--” He sits up a bit more and grins at her. “You’re not done with that armor.”

“I’m not,” she says. “But maybe you could help with this last bit.”

“Happy to.” Erend stands and kisses her, reaching down to pull at the hem of her top and tug it over her head. The bottoms come off easy and it’s at this point that she looks at him and says, very seriously, “You’re wearing more clothes than me.”

“It’s true.”

“Fix it,” she says, and the tone in her voice goes straight to his dick. He hurriedly pulls off his shirt, only to have her on him again, hands pressed to his chest as she kisses him hungrily. She’s new to this, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for with enthusiasm. Erend tugs at the band around her breasts and Aloy pulls away just long enough to pull it over her head before she presses herself against him.

He pulls her with him onto his bed, letting her lay against his chest while they kiss. It’s indulgent, the way her mouth opens against his, the way her hair falls around his face and engulfs him. Erend could do this for hours, and one day he’d like to, but Aloy’s pushing at his pants again, and Erend realizes with a jolt she is now completely naked.

“Shit,” he mutters, when she finally pulls back to look him over.

They are both a network of scars and burns, cuts that went too deep for comfort. Erend reaches out to trace the line of one along her side, carefully. He knows the skin there must be sensitive -- she’s young, and so are her scars. “S’okay?” he asks, and she nods. Erend takes her hand and guides it toward an old mark on his shoulder, one that doesn’t smart so much these days.

“Where did it come from?” she asks.

Erend moves his hands down to her thighs, massaging the muscle there. “Training exercise, when I was twelve. Aches when it rains.”

“They’re beautiful,” she says. “In their own way.”

“Most of them I got being stupid, so I don’t know if I can agree.”

She laughs at that, leaning down to kiss him again, pressing her forehead against his while one of her hands travels down his chest. Erend groans as she reaches down and wraps her hand around his cock, her grip careful while she strokes it.

“How should...how should I be, what’s easier—”

“Here.” Erend brings her to the head of the bed and leans back against his pillow. “You lay there, beside me.” He guides her down, so she can lay on her back next to him. “We’ll just go slow, okay?”

Aloy scowls. “I’m strong, Erend. I can handle this.”

He chuckles. “I don’t doubt it. But this should be good for you, yeah?” He kisses her shoulder, then her neck, stroking his hand down her hip. “So we’ll take it easy.”

She squirms next to him, her thighs rubbing together, trying to get friction. Erend reaches out and pushes the hair from her forehead while he puts his other hand on her leg and urges them apart. He hears her breath hitch as he presses one finger against her entrance and carefully teases her open. She kisses him, and Erend takes the chance to slide his finger into her.

“It’s alright?” he asks, and she nods, cupping his cheek and deepening their kiss. Erend shifts so he can press another finger into her. As soon as he does, the energy changes. Aloy gasps and her head rolls back, her legs falling further open. Erend sits up on his elbow and strokes her hair while he fucks her with his fingers. When his thumb finds her clit she moans, and Erend suddenly understands what she meant the other day, when she’d said, _you think when I’m out there I don’t feel things?_

He kisses her ear. “Have you thought about me? When you’ve been out there on your own?”

“ _Erend_ \--”

“Tell me,” he says. “I just...I have to know it wasn’t just me.”

“Of course it wasn’t just you.” She arches into his touch and moans again. “I want _more_ ,” she says. “Erend, please.” She cups his cheek and draws him in to kiss him again. Erend is so hard, rolling his hips to get friction against her. Aloy reaches down and strokes his cock with intent, and with one easy movement, he settles between her legs, his mouth never leaving hers. He moves his hands, keeping his thumb on her clit while he reaches down to press his cock against her.

“You ready?”

“ _Yes_ , just _do_ it--”

Erend laughs and carefully guides himself inside her, easing into it. Each thrust pushes him a little further in. He feels Aloy tense around him, so he takes it slower, kissing her chin, her jaw, her neck. “Just relax,” he murmurs, and she nods. Erend reaches down to stroke the outside of her thigh, moving her leg around his waist. “Move with me,” he says. “You’re doing so good. Does it feel right?”

“It does.”

“That’s good. Just hold onto me, I’ve got you. You trust me, don’t you?”

Aloy braces herself with a hand at the back of his neck, and smiles at him. “Always.”

That _devastates_ him, in the best way possible With a groan, he thrusts completely into her and holds himself there, adjusting to the feel of her, letting her do the same. Erend isn’t sure which of them moves first, but they quickly find their rhythm together, and, like with everything else, Aloy is a quick learner. Erend doesn’t know why she wouldn’t be. Sex isn’t hard, it’s the being with someone else that’s difficult. It’s the surrender of your voice and your breath and your nerves. Her hands roam over his arms, his neck, into his hair. Erend kisses every part of her he can reach. At one point he feels her teeth dig into his shoulder and he groans, relishing in the twinge of pain.

He’s starting to get close, but he isn’t ready to be finished yet. Erend pulls out and Aloy groans, tugging at the blanket underneath them.

“Erend--”

“Here.” He moves to his back and helps her straddle his waist. “You’ll like it this way,” he adds. “Trust me.”

Aloy pushes the hair from her face, looks down at him and grins. She takes his cock in hand and easily moves down onto him, like it’s _nothing._ Of course, it isn’t. Seeing her above him, her body moving as he thrusts up into her -- it’s _everything._ Erend grips her hips tight, watching in awe as she slides one hand down her stomach and toward her clit. He’s getting closer now, and he tells her, pulling her down flush with his chest to kiss her again.

He could do that part without stop, but all of this does, eventually, have to end. He finishes with a moan into her open mouth, clasping her to him, as he rolls her over again. Still inside her, he takes two fingers and works at her clit, gently drawing her own orgasm out. It aches when she comes, her muscles clenching around him, but Erend’s sort of a glutton for this kind of punishment, and he wants to feel every bit of her he can before this is over.

When he finally pulls out, they just lay there together, catching their breath, staring at the ceiling. Aloy’s hand finds his and she threads their fingers together.

“...So.”

Erend laughs. “ _So._ ” He looks at her. “I assume that was good enough for you.”

“It wasn’t bad,” she says, rolling over. She pulls a face, massaging her hip. “That smarts.”

“Yeah, it might for a couple of days.” With a groan he gets up and goes to get something to clean himself up with. He comes back to the bed and moves toward her on hands and knees, taking the wet cloth and dragging it over her stomach, then her breasts. He didn’t pay them enough attention in the moment, so he does now, massaging one while he presses his lips to the other, taking her nipple between his teeth and tugging gently.

“ _Oh_ , that’s good.”

“Yeah?” He lifts his head, then goes back to his task. Aloy luxuriates in the attention, guiding him where she wants him, eventually moving his hand between her legs to get her off again. She comes with a soft moan, clenching her thighs together and arching into the touch.

“Can we do it again?” she asks. “Later?”

Erend hums against her neck. “Yeah. Gotta give me a bit, but I’m all yours.”

She laughs and kisses him, taking the cloth and tossing it aside. “I’m glad we did this. I’m glad we talked.”

“So am I.” He ducks his head and buries his face against her neck, just to breathe in the scent of her, to relish in the comfort of her body next to his.

“You are so worthy,” he hears her say. “You deserve every bit of goodness you can find.”

“Including you?”

Her cheeks go pink. “I’m not--”

Erend cuts her off with another kiss. “You are,” he says. “For me.”

Aloy visibly relaxes, pulling him to her again, resting her chin on top of his head while she combs her fingers through his hair.

 _This is easy_ , he thinks, though he knows it won’t always be that way. They live difficult lives, with difficult ends. Still -- it’s nice to feel like this, just for a while. It’s nice to hold her and be held, to satisfy and be satisfied.

It is nice, he thinks, to be whole, after spending such a very long time in pieces.

Like bits of armor, scattered across the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @ weatheredlaw


End file.
